"The election board worker shall compare the photograph to the voter to determine whether the voter is the person depicted in the photograph, considering hair color, glasses, facial hair, cosmetics, weight, age, injury to the voter, and other physical characteristics."

Jordan Hanson, of Lawrence, is afraid that when she goes to the polls for the Aug. 5 primary, she will be turned away without being able to vote.

Hanson is a resident of Kansas who is older than 18, has registered to vote and has an official, government-issued photo identification card. The problem? The photo and the "sex" field on the ID, a Kansas driver's license, identify her as a man.

Hanson, a transgender Kansan, said she is loathe to let her gender identity be vetted by a random poll worker.

"My identification and my ability to vote should not be up to the subjective interpretation of anyone,” Hanson said.

Tom Witt is the executive director of Equality Kansas, the state's main lobbying group for gay, lesbian and transgender Kansans.

Witt said Hanson is coming forward with a concern activists say is prevalent in the transgender community.

"For a lot of people their ID is months or years behind who they are, and that’s a very serious issue for people trying to vote within this new regimen,” Witt said.

Witt said others have called his organization to ask about their voting rights, but “everybody is reluctant to be public about this, because there is no protection against discrimination based on gender identity in this state.”

Kay Curtis is a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who spearheaded the voter ID laws.

Curtis said potential voters are allowed to present a second ID with a more current picture, that doesn’t have to be government-issued, such as a Sam's Club membership card.

Curtis also said a government ID on which the gender doesn’t match shouldn’t be a problem because the law specifically instructs poll workers to consider only the name and appearance.

“In the situation you described the first thing is that the ‘sex’ identification has no bearing when the person goes to the polls to vote," Curtis said. "It’s not something that’s looked at by the elections board worker.”

Curtis said the law instructs poll workers to take into account physical changes when they assess a potential voter's ID.

The voter ID law specifically contemplates changes related to a voter's "hair color, glasses, facial hair, cosmetics, weight, age and injury." Changes in gender aren’t mentioned. The transgender question was brought up at a public hearing on the voter ID legislation, and Kobach's office issued a response to it and other queries on Jan. 24, 2012.

"County elections officers have been informed about the existence of transgendered individuals and have been advised to educate their workers about transgendered individuals," the response states. "K.A.R. 7-42-6 sufficiently allows for poll workers to take 'other physical factors,' such as a sex change, into account when assessing a photographic identification document."

But that reassurance didn’t match the on-the-ground experience of Stephanie Mott, a Topekan who leads the Kansas Statewide Transgender Education Project.

Mott said the first time she voted under the new ID requirements, she was still registered as Steven Mott, and her ID still listed her as Steven Mott, so she gave that name, knowing that all the poll worker was instructed to match was name and appearance.

“The poll worker said ‘Name?’ and I said ‘Mott,’ “ Mott said. “She said ‘First name?’ and I said ‘Steven.’ Then she said ‘You’re not Steven,’ out loud to everybody within earshot. Then I had to explain to her I was transgender. Then I had to explain to her what that was.”

Mott said being forced to "out" herself as transgender to everyone at the polling place was unpleasant but also something transgender individuals who haven't updated their IDs go through in other venues as well.

“Statistics show that when we present mismatched documents, 15 percent of the time we get turned away, 28 percent of the time we experience harassment and 3 percent of the time we experience violence,” Mott said.

Hanson said the state's bureaucracy has made it more difficult to update her identification. She said the local Division of Vehicles turned her away when she tried to get a driver's license that listed her as a woman, telling her she needed to get her birth certificate changed.

She made a request for such a change to the Kansas Department for Health and Environment, but in response received only a short email from a agency attorney that such an amendment based on sex change was impossible because of a 2002 Kansas Supreme Court decision regarding the estate of Marshall G. Gardiner, whose potential heirs challenged his marriage to a transgender woman under the state's same-sex marriage ban.

Witt, who along with Mott lobbied for more protections within the voter ID law for transgender Kansans, said there are ways to get the gender field changed on Kansas state documents, but none of them are easy.

"Really what they should do, from my point of view, is it should be a lot easier for transgender people who are transitioning to get the ID for their appropriate gender,” Witt said.

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This story is utterly ridiculous. These wackos never stop with these "straw man" arguments! Idiotic! I wonder if "Transgenders" are afraid that they're right to indoor plumbing will be taken away next? We truly need a giant "flush" of the toilet, to clean out all of the fools, that write these stories, raise these STUPID false concerns, and just continually stir the pot !!

Mott said being forced to "out" herself as transgender is "something transgender individuals who haven't updated their IDs go through"?
Well, if you took the trouble to change your gender, why wouldn't you do whatever you had to do, to update your ID?!?

"The election board worker shall compare the photograph to the voter to determine whether the voter is the person depicted in the photograph, considering hair color, glasses, facial hair, cosmetics, weight, age, injury to the voter, and other physical characteristics."
Silence..... cricket...... cricket....... more silence......
So! Will the election board worker check "the other physical characteristics."?
[Insert sarcasm. Come on THUMBS DOWN for this tasteless post!]
Seriously I have to agree with SOBV. And I agree with TyphoidM. This Ain'T newS.
It's the law, let the election worker make the call. Pretty yourself up like your photo, and then don't argue with'em.

Not saying this in a judgmental or name-calling way ...
Just stating the facts: Most people see this as Freakish.
If you want it to be seen differently, step up, be bold, give the facts and ask for a re-thinking.
It might just work.
Until then, they will consider it Freakish.
Sorry. They just will.

What is it the transgender populace want? It seems there are always caveats which seem to represent more of the need for a ruckus and attention rather than a desire to be proactive in finding solutions. The fact is people in general can run into problems when they fail to update their driver's licenses, in between renewals, when they divorce and fail to report the name change, move and fail to update their address, get eyeglasses and fail to report they must have their glasses when driving, etc.

This is no different. And, yes, there are hassles involved in doing so.

Having to provide proof of who you are is required in everyday transactions such as cashing a check, boarding an airplane, going to the casino, being pulled over for a traffic violation, applying for any type of public assistance, to open a checking account, to obtain a library card, to enroll in college, etc. It is the responsibility of the individual to assure their ID, whether it be a KDL or a Kansas photo ID card, reflect current and updated information.

Why on earth is everything expected to be accomplished by and/or provided by the government on behalf of an individual just because it seems like such a hassle?

Isn't there also a need to go and have a name legally changed in order to comply with social security issues as well? It's not just that there is sex change involved, there is also a drastic change in appearance and there is a name change. Why does it seem so unreasonable that there would need to be some footwork and expense of a few fees involved to accomplish changes that were knowingly sought?

Surely, this is an issue the transgender populace and its' advocacy group should provide direction and support for; it would seem more prudent to pursue that type of positive solution rather than agitate protest. Part of being accepted is also acknowledging there must be similar treatment for similar issues. Needing to have an updated identification is a responsibility for everyone. Transgendered should be treated equally and that includes not being given special exceptions others are not given when it comes to rules, regulations and laws.

I do not mean to be insensitive but life is about choices. I have no care what gender you are and the volunteers at your voting place don't either. They only care about following the rules set out for them. If you didn't change your Id to match who you are then that falls on you and not the volunteers.

Just another attempt by the left to make an issue about how difficult it will be for their base to vote. It's so complicated and life disrupting to obtain a photo ID you know. Even though you need one to do about a hundred normal things people do everyday it's just totally unreasonable to ask someone to have one to vote. Then this he or she or whatever it is today needed her or she's 15 minutes and a chance to bash conservatives so we get a picture of a guy wearing a wig and makeup telling us how difficult it's life is. Just another made up scenario to try and drum up sympathy. It's ok sir/ma'am. We already know which way your going to vote. But bad news, you can't vote for Obama again.

"...tried to get a driver's license that listed her as a woman, telling her she needed to get her birth certificate changed."

Just wondering....how can someone get a birth certificate changed? That's a document of record.

If born a male, and changed your gender....then you were still born a male...as your birth certificate states. Changing the birth certificate would be falsifying an official government document, wouldn't it?

Unless all the people involved (doctor(s), nurses, parents, etc.) agreed upon birth that the birth certificate has listed something wrong, then it is what is.

For a few bucks you can save yourself some hassle. It's not the workers at the voting place or even the law that is causing the problem. I'd assume any time where an ID is used to identify a person (writing a check, entering a bar, traffic stop, etc.), it raises some legitimate questions about the person's identity.

finds it uncomfortable to "out" itself as transgender at a polling place with a handful of people present but yet has on a number of times "outed" itself in the Capital Journal paper....That just doesn't add up.....Hmmmmm. I don't care if you want to play dress up but you need to use some common sense and understand that many people (especially those in jobs where IDs are required) will need further explaination.

what you are born. Hormones are required to take on the appearance of the other gender the person wants to be. Without those they will revert back to the physical appearance they were born. Therefore, you are what you are born.

Beyond that, it is the individual's responsibility to update their driver's license photo if there is such a drastic change in appearance. When I've shown my ID to vote, and watched others as well, I don't think these election workers are doing anything more than checking the name and comparing the picture to the person who handed over the ID. I don't see the problem of getting the photo updated on a license or ID card. I know a couple of people who are not transgender, but are regularly mistaken for the opposite sex.

I agree with the others that if this is such a problem, please work toward a solution. No one is helping him/herself by throwing a fit. Contact your legislators. Maybe instead of F or M on your license or ID, KDOR could put a T. Problem solved and tells the true story.

American Heritage Dictionary definition of fascism: "...a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism."

If you're a real woman, you are going to have those days when you wear sweat pants, sandals and a random t-shirt that says something like I'm with Stupid; you'll be too lazy to brush your hair so you put it in a ponytail; you decide to go to the Walmarts with no makeup and bra on, because, well.. why be the only one there who is wearing one? What are you, better than everyone else? Heck no!!!

Make sure voting day is one of those, "Frankly, my dear... I don't give a darn" days. No one will know the difference. Besides... do any of us really look like our driver's license photos???

C'mon folks, he's obviously trans - he looks very male to me. If I were poll worker, I'd look at him/her, look at the ID, and give him/her a ballot. I don't think the trans constituency (all 40 of them) are swinging elections anyway, so its a non issue.

Was this article even written? Did this he/she or whatever call the CJ begging to do a story on her or did the CJ go out seeking a transgender person to do a story on?? What a waste of time and newspaper space. I'd rather read about how slow the grass is growing. Move on...................

My hero and mentor, Popeye the Sailor Man, often said, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I am", and Jordan, youse ain't no M'aam! In closing, "That's all I can stands, cuz I can't stands n'more!" - Popeye